West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Thxs Ian

 

Which is here
https://www.national-preservation.c...i-april-may-2019.1218980/page-10#post-2441194

 

He who pays the piper calls the tune!

 

Duchess triangle turning on Sunday....

 

The land grant at Bishops Lydeard was obtained by a small team working on behalf of the whole Railway, with the support of the three bodies and working with (all three) local councils and the developer. At around the end of that process the corrosive factionalism started and progress stopped. That lesson is now being re-learned in Somerset after an unfortunate hiatus. Still some way to go.

Robin

 

Robin is right there is plenty of land to develop, also don’t forget the 33 acres at Norton as well as the 6/7 acres at BL. And then you could find some space for covered accommodation at Minehead, Williton and don’t forget the Dunster Goods Yard project, even Robin’s much loved Stogumber has space and a history of a goods yard/shed. What the WSR lacks is management ability, capacity, drive and foresight. The bad times ended over four years ago so the ‘hiatus of the EX6’ excuse is running a bit thin now. The Coombes Review of 2015 (yes it was that long ago) was clear, it set all this out, it stated the financial issues (which all knew about then but nobody acted on), it set out the need for fundraising, and the role of a membership charity, and the restructure to meet grant funders needs and all parties adopted its findings. Yet it’s not been actioned by either Board and the same people are doing the same things on both Boards now as 4 years ago, only a very few people are different (with of course some moving their deckchairs!!).

Let’s hope the new direction of a ‘commercially run’ WSR doesn’t mean buying the freehold and selling those bits of land off, we all fought that fight once already. In addition a commercially run WSR also won’t attract large funders, so it seems to be going in the opposite direct that Coombes set out, if it keeps this new direction unless it can stand on its own feet through the fare box, the future is grim.

Time to do what should have been done and start the fund raising that should have been in place years ago, the funding is out there (I personally have proved that for the WSR, plus many other railways have actually done it with 7 figure sums) to cover both infrastructure and future development at the same time, but the WSR needs to go and get it, it hasn’t, it must, it may already be too late. Time for people to either act or move aside. The saying goes ‘If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got’.

 

Not much variety?

Robin

 

Much of what Andy says is right. The funding is out there to be had for the right projects with the right management.

I have an interesting perspective as I now sit as one of the Independent Members on the Hinkley Point C Community Fund Award Panel deciding on grant applications. (For reasons of good governance I sat out when the WSRA application was being decided.) And in a day or three there will be an announcement elsewhere in the country about a useful grant for another Railway to which I have made a modest contribution in facilitating.

It is time for those who have not proved themselves effective to step down and let the new wind of change blow cleanly through West Somerset.

Sometimes to lead you have to stand aside.

Robin

 

Update on Seaward Way crossing.

https://somersetnewsroom.com/2019/04/29/crossing-upgrade-continues-this-week/

 

Already late and WSR works cannot start until the winter shutdown. Also cost has risen significantly.

 

I am not surprised it is late. The possible demise of the WSR some months ago must have been well known in the corridors of SCC. Maybe someone decided to delay as if there was no railway, therefore no crossing then some of the £1 million could be saved?

 

The District Council itself was on the verge of total collapse, they couldn't afford it themselves which probably caused a delay, did the District have to provide a portion of the cost with the County covering the bulk?

 

Highways are a County Council matter. What part does the District Council play?

 

9351 Blog has been updated.

https://www.wsra.org.uk/category/9351-blog/

Robin

 

I agree. As I understand it the Association has hired a profesional Fundraiser on the basis of 15 hours per week. I posted a link to the Swire Charitable Trust which yielded £10k for 4561. Very welcome. but what else is happening???

 

I agree. As I understand it the Association has hired a profesional Fundraiser on the basis of 15 hours per week. I posted a link to the Swire Charitable Trust which yielded £10k for 4561. Very welcome. but what else is happening???

 

I agree. As I understand it the Association has hired a profesional Fundraiser on the basis of 15 hours per week. I posted a link to the Swire Charitable Trust which yielded £10k for 4561. Very welcome. but what else is happening???

 

It’s a good point you make. The professional fund raiser who was recruited has a solid and unquestionable track record in fund raising for large sums over the last 20 years. I should know I recruited her and convinced the WSRA Board to employ her just before I was shown the door. Both she and I agreed that £1 Million per year was achievable, this figure was supported by many other relevant organisations who I worked with in 2018.

However until both Boards get the changes needed to become a suitable recipient of funding in place and change their culture the large ticket funders will not engage. The new Fund Raiser has said this, I have said this, the 20-25 Funders and experts in this field I was working with in 2018 said this, the Community Groups I worked closely with said this and the Coombes Review also said this in 2015 but nobody on either Board has driven the changes needed, in fact it’s gone the other way.

Funders work with Community Projects, for the community, by the community, inclusive of all elements of the community for the greater good of the community, the WSR is ideally placed to easily achieve this status and thus the funding. Yet the new WSR’s direction is now going toward a stand along commercial enterprise who do what they want to do directed by what is currently an unelected or unchallenged minority, for example in this month’s Steam Railway there are two different comments worth comparing, the first in the article about setting up the new Vale of Berkeley Railway just up the road from the WSR, one of its founders states as something they are trying hard to avoid: “As we have grown, issues about accountability arose and many of us studied, with mounting horror, the stories of appalling relationships that have arisen on other railways – ego’s running rampant, lack of accountability and volunteers feeling neglected and Ignored.” What he is describing here is exclusion not inclusion.

In the same edition of Steam Railway a quote from the WSR’s General Manager regarding what is happening on the WSR now “It has been made perfectly clear; if you don’t like what we’re doing, there’s the door”. This sentiment has also been put in writing by the WSR PLC Chairman, including the comments “we will drive out all the trouble makers" and "back us fully or leave”.

When I walked through that particular door in January I was on the verge of presenting by invitation of a funder to gaining circa £250,000 from a large government backed fund for infrastructure work. That funder when they heard of this new exclusive direction toward an exclusive structure withdrew the WSR from the presentation. It’s simple the comment (and sentiment behind it) from the WSR PLC will most likely have cost the WSR around £500,000 this year in funding (other funders have said no on these ‘exclusive’ grounds as well). Its simple funders will not fund exclusion but will fund inclusion.

The great and very talented new WSRA Fund Raiser will be working with both hands tied behind her back, never able to move beyond small sums whilst this is the case. Robin was spot on in her earlier post in many less words than I’ve used: “The funding is out there to be had for the right projects with the right management”.

 

Andy
You obviously had a great impact on events in the time before you left the WSR. How long were you actually in the positions described and are you able to tell us just how much money you raised during your time there?